Paramount Global Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:PARA)

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 45,022 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 191% compared to the typical daily volume of 15,474 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Paramount Global by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 12,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 2,512 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Paramount Global in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,688,000. Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in Paramount Global during the 4th quarter worth approximately $106,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Paramount Global during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,096,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in Paramount Global in the fourth quarter worth $1,839,000. 73.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PARA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on shares of Paramount Global in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Paramount Global in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Paramount Global from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Macquarie reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective on shares of Paramount Global in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Paramount Global from $10.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Paramount Global presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.58.

Paramount Global Price Performance

Shares of PARA stock opened at $11.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.37, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.69. Paramount Global has a 12 month low of $9.54 and a 12 month high of $14.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.74.

Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.11) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.29). Paramount Global had a positive return on equity of 5.81% and a negative net margin of 18.89%. The business had revenue of $7.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.07 billion. Research analysts expect that Paramount Global will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

Paramount Global Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Paramount Global’s payout ratio is -2.43%.

About Paramount Global

Paramount Global operates as a media, streaming, and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment segments. The TV Media segment operates CBS Television Network, a domestic broadcast television network; CBS Stations, a television station; and international free-to-air networks comprising Network 10, Channel 5, Telefe, and Chilevisión; domestic premium and basic cable networks, such as Paramount+ with Showtime, MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, The Smithsonian Channel, Nickelodeon, BET Media Group, and CBS Sports Network; and international extensions of these brands.